


Dibs

by Bellakitse



Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Best Friends, Childhood Friends, Episode 1.08 related, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mutual Pining, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:33:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24424321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bellakitse/pseuds/Bellakitse
Summary: “Do you remember when we met?” Carlos starts, and though confused by the change in conversation, TK nods.“You called dibs on being my friend,” he chuckles at the memory.*TK and Carlos have been best friends since they were kids. An incident at work shows them they are so much more than that, and always have been.
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand
Comments: 53
Kudos: 344





	Dibs

**Author's Note:**

  * For [InsidiousIntent](https://archiveofourown.org/users/InsidiousIntent/gifts).



> To my wife on her birthday! Babe, I have no idea why you decided to become my friend when you are 100 times cooler than me, but you're stuck with me forever now. I'm so lucky to have you in my corner. I love you. 💖💖
> 
> I hope this is cheesy enough for you! 🧀

“Are you going to stare at your phone all night?”

TK looks up at the question; warmth settles at his side as Carlos comes back from the bar and slides in next to him in the booth, across from them, Paul and Marjan roll their eyes in agreement to Carlos’ question. He _might’ve_ been ignoring them to be on his phone, while Carlos went for a round of drinks.

“I’m sorry,” he says to his new teammates, Paul and Marjan, who recently joined the 126. The whole point of tonight was to make them feel welcomed, not ignore them. The rest of their team is around the bar, some dancing, some getting more drinks. “Family stuff,” he excuses himself before looking at Carlos with a raised eyebrow.

“I wouldn’t have to be on my phone if you just answered your mom and your sisters in the group chat,” he tells him, taking the water Carlos places in front of him before passing another to Marjan and a beer for Paul.

“They have been at it all afternoon,” Carlos all but whines. “I finally had to mute it.”

“And once you muted it, who do you think they started messaging?” he questions dryly, smirking when Carlos lets out a groan. “Exactly, sweetheart. So now _I_ have to deal with them, thanks for that, by the way.”

“Your fault for being in a private group chat with them,” Carlos reminds him with the usual pissy attitude he gets when reminded there is a chat between the women in his life and him he’s not allowed to be a part of.

“You and his sisters are part of your own group chat?” Marjan questions with an arched eyebrow, sharing a pointed look with Paul.

TK nods even though he’s not sure what the look is about; he turns his phone in her direction. “I named it _TK and the queens_ ,’” he answers, grinning when Carlos snorts.

“Always sucking up to those terrors,” Carlos grumbles, and TK would _maybe_ believe him if he didn’t know his friend since they were eight and nine, and knows how much Carlos adores his family.

“ _Anyway_ ,” TK continues, purposely ignoring him, shifting when Carlos pokes him in the side once before settling next to him again. “When this one gets all _‘youngest child’_ on the family, pouty and bratty. I’m the one they text to fix him.”

Carlos pokes him again twice, going in for a third.

“Poke me one more time, and I’m telling your mom,” he warns him, already typing into the chat. He presses sent a second after Carlos’ finger digs into his side, making him jump.

It takes less than a minute when Carlos’ phone starts rattling on the table, his mother’s face on the ID.

Carlos stares at him incredulously. “You really tattled to my Ma?”

“Her brat of a child is abusing me,” TK answers, grinning when Carlos rolls his eyes so hard he does it with his whole body. He watches as Carlos stands up, taking the phone with him to find a quieter spot to get lectured.

“I hate you,” Carlos tells him as he begins to walk away.

“You love me, I’m your favorite,” TK calls out to his retreating back, unable to keep the laughter from his voice. “Just like I’m your mom’s favorite, don’t be jealous, after eighteen years of knowing each other, you should just accept it!”

Carlos flips him off as he goes, and he lets out a bark of laughter, amused as always that he can rile him up. Still chuckling, he turns back towards his friends to find them watching him in a way that makes him sit up straighter.

“What?” he asks after a moment when neither speaks, and he can’t help but feel defensive when they share a look between them.

“You’ve known Carlos for eighteen years?” Paul questions, breaking the awkwardness that has settled over the table.

He nods, some of the uneasiness he felt moments ago lightening. “Dad and I moved down here when I was eight,” he starts. “We moved across the street from the Reyes – Carlos, his three sisters, and his mom Carlota. The evening we moved in, Carlota brought them over and some food to welcome us into the neighborhood. When Carlos saw me, he called dibs on being my friend,” he tells them, grinning at the memory. “He’s the youngest of four and the only boy. I guess he needed another boy to even the odds a bit. We’ve been best friends ever since.”

“And when did you guys start dating?” Marjan asks curiously.

TK rears back at the question, his brow knitting in the center. “We’re not dating,” he answers, his heart ticking upward as soon as the words leave his mouth. The look Marjan and Paul share again doesn’t help it. “Okay, what the hell is with the looks?” he questions. “This is like the _third_ time you two have done that tonight.”

Marjan and Paul look at each other yet again, and TK has to bite down on his lip to keep from snapping at them, he likes them, and the last thing he wants is to get off on the wrong foot with his newest crew members.

“It’s just – “ Marjan starts hesitantly. “Kind of hard to believe that the two of you aren’t together?”

“Why do you say that?” he questions. He tells his stupid pulse to calm the fuck down.

This time when his friends look at each other, he can’t help the annoyed sound that escapes his throat. He’s had just about enough of that and the obvious silent conversation they’re having about him.

“Okay, okay,” Marjan starts, raising her hands in peace. “It’s just the way you two – “ she pauses.

“ – Act around each other, look at each other, talk to each other,” Paul continues for her, counting each comment off on his fingers.

“How do we – “ he starts, not knowing how to continue.

He feels his face go hot. It’s not exactly the first time someone has commented on his and Carlos’ closeness. They’ve been best friends since they were children, they’ve lived in each other’s pockets since the day they met. Even their families have made comments over the years, his dad, Carlos’ sisters, and his mother – who is convinced that someday she’s going to call him her son-in-law. It’s a running joke between all of them. But there is something about the way Marjan, but especially Paul, is looking at him that makes him hyperaware.

The reason his dad added Paul to their crew was that he seems to have some kind of sixth sense about things, and he can’t help but wonder if Paul can pick up on the more than friendly thoughts he’s been having lately about Carlos.

He’s not even sure when it started. Carlos has always been his best friend, his confidant. For as close as he’s always been with his dad. Carlos is who he goes to with his deepest secrets.

He’s who he first came out to as gay. Which turned into a mutual coming out when Carlos told him he liked boys too. He hugged him tight and promised it wouldn’t change their friendship.

He’s who TK turned to when he decided to get clean. Carlos held his hand every step of the way, and when he relapsed, he just held him in his arms that much harder. Carlos has been through every lousy break up he’s had, the worse being Alex.

Carlos Reyes is his _best friend_ , but somewhere along the way, it’s turned into something more complicated, where his heart starts to race at the worst moments – pretty much any time he’s near him.

“It’s like you two are the only ones in the room,” Paul answers his unfinished question, and TK wishes he sounded teasing instead of soft as if he’s breaking news to him the gentlest way possible.

“We just assumed, TK,” Marjan says just as quiet, snapping him out of his racing thoughts.

“Well, you assumed wrong,” he tells them firmly. “We are just friends.” He’s not surprised by the look they give each other one more time at his words.

“Our mistake, man,” Paul says apologetically, Marjan nods along in agreement.

TK shrugs, giving them a smile that feels tight on his face. “Don’t worry about it.”

֍֍֍

“Are you going to tell me what’s bothering you?”

TK looks over at Carlos; he’s been quiet the whole ride back to his apartment, it’s not surprising that Carlos picked up on it.

“Nothing,” he says, flashing Carlos a quick reassuring smile. “Tired, I guess. I just need my bed. Good night.”

He gets out of Carlos’ car, swallowing back the sigh that threatens to escape when he hears Carlos’ door open.

“You really think that’s going to work on me, Tyler Kennedy?”

He doesn’t swallow his groan; it’s automatic whenever Carlos uses his full name. He turns around and points at him with a glare. “I hate it when you call me that,” he says, lying. He does hate his full name, but hearing it off Carlos’ lips is one of the few instances that he doesn’t mind it, he might even like it.

Carlos doesn’t call him out on the lie; the look he gives him is enough. He sighs again as he goes to sit on the steps of his porch. Carlos follows, sitting down next to him.

“You have been quiet since I came back from talking to Mami,” Carlos says quietly. “Thanks for that, by the way, got lectured about being nice to you for a full fifteen minutes.”

TK smiles a real smile for the first time since the conversation with Paul and Marjan. “I’m her favorite,” he jokes.

Carlos snorts out a laugh. “Don’t sell yourself so short. You’re _every_ Reyes favorite, Mami’s, Valentina’s, Sofía’s, Lola’s – “

“Yours?” he teases, his breath catching when Carlos looks at him in that way of his that TK feels deep inside. He has to remind himself that it doesn’t mean anything; it doesn’t mean what he _wants_ it to mean.

“Of course,” Carlos says quietly, staring into his eyes. “I called dibs on you years ago. You’ve always been my favorite person.”

TK swallows hard at the sincerity and raw affection he sees in Carlos’ eyes. “You’re my favorite person too.”

Carlos smiles at him before opening his arms to him with a teasing look on his face that makes TK chuckle as he slides into his space. He lets out a sigh as Carlos’ arms come around him, feeling instantly at ease. It’s been like this since they were kids, whenever something was bothering him, Carlos’ hugs just made everything better.

“Thanks,” he whispers after a few minutes of comforting silence between them.

“Are you okay?” Carlos questions again when he pulls back from his arms.

With their faces this close, TK can make out the golden flecks in Carlos’ warm brown eyes. All his life, people have commented on his green eyes, telling him how beautiful they are, and yet to TK, there aren’t eyes more beautiful than the ones he’s looking into now.

“TK?” Carlos asks again.

TK licks his lips; he can feel all his feelings for Carlos bubbling to the surface until they’re on the tip of his tongue just dying to slip out. He could do it; he could lay his feelings out at their feet. No matter the answer, he knows Carlos would be kind.

“I’m okay,” he says instead, the smile he gives his friend feels strained. “Just tired. Really.”

Carlos looks doubtful, but he doesn’t push, like always he is patient with him the way few people are.

“Okay,” he says finally. He pulls him forward for another hug, and TK closes his eyes when he feels Carlos’ lips press lightly right at his hairline. “Get some rest,” he orders with a quirk of his lips as he gets up from the porch.

“Yes, officer,” TK mockingly salutes, getting an eye-roll in return.

“Such a brat,” Carlos murmurs fondly. “I’ll see you later.”

“Good night,” he says back quietly. He stays on the porch until Carlos is in his car, pulling out of the driveway. He ignores the small nagging voice in the back of his brain that tells him he should have told him the truth.

֍֍֍

Due to their overlapping shifts, he doesn’t see Carlos again until two days later when they both answer to a possible home invasion. When he and the 126 get there, Carlos is already putting a man in the back of his squad car.

“Hey,” he calls out, a step behind his dad. “What’s up?”

Carlos nods towards his car. “Bruce Ackerman, early dementia. This used to be his house, he got confused tonight and broke in. The family that owns it now is locked in the bedroom.”

TK nods just as their radios come to life. They all listen as the 911 operator tells them there is someone inside suffering from cardiac arrest.

“Alright, team, you heard dispatch. We have someone down; let's get in there,” his dad calls out. “TK, you take the battering ram.”

TK gives his dad a nod, walking back to the rig; when he turns around, he finds Carlos next to him with a frown on his face.

“What’s wrong?” he questions quickly, needing to catch up with his team but not liking the look on Carlos’ face.

“We were told there’s a gun on the premises,” Carlos starts. TK nods, he heard that too. “Just be careful, okay?”

“Hey, you know me,” he tries to joke but finds himself swallowing hard when Carlos gives him a serious look. He holds his breath as Carlos takes a step forward and cups his cheek with his hand.

“Yeah, that’s why I’m saying it. I have a bad feeling about this one, Ty,” he tells him, running his thumb over his cheekbone. “So, for me, be careful.”

TK struggles to speak with Carlos looking at him like that, so in the end, he just finds himself nodding as he reaches up to touch the hand that’s holding him. “I promise.”

Carlos gives him a nod back before taking a step away from him. TK gives him one more look, his heart is racing, and he knows it’s not from the job like usual. He walks away promising to himself the next time he’s alone with Carlos; he’s going to tell him how he feels and hope that maybe, just maybe, his friend feels the same.

The thought sticks with him as he and his team make their way inside the house, it lingers as they walk the narrow hall to the locked bedroom, and it continues to echo in his head as he uses the battering ram to open the door.

He sees the gun a second before the bullet hits him in the chest, he hears screams and shouts as his team rushes around him, but all he can see is his dad and the fear in his eyes, it’s a familiar look, and he hates that he’s put it there on his dad’s face yet again. In the middle of the chaos, he finds Carlos over his dad’s shoulder as he comes to a halt, his eyes are wide, and his breathing heavy. If it hurt him to see the fear in his father's eyes, it’s nothing compared to seeing it in Carlos’.

He opens his mouth but finds he can’t say anything, not when it’s all pain. He closes his eyes even as more than one person around him tells him to keep them open. He wants to, but they feel heavy. As he drifts off to sleep, the thought comes back one final time.

He should have told Carlos how he feels; he should have told him he loves him.

He dreams – he’s not sure of what, or for how long, but he dreams and listens. He hears his father, his team, Carlos’ mom, and his sisters. He hears them all, but mostly, he hears Carlos. The words are muffled like he’s under water, but still, under it all, he hears one thing clearly that makes him push for the surface.

_‘I love you, TK, come back to me.’_

֍֍֍

He wakes up with a start; everything aches in a way that has never hurt before, especially when he tries to take a deep breath.

“Easy, TK, easy.”

“Dad?” he questions, wincing at the way the word makes his throat feel like it’s on fire. “Water?”

He watches through gritty eyes as his father moves around the room, getting him a glass.

“What happened?” he asks after taking a few sips. He leans back on the bed, already wiped out from just having to lift his head.

“What do you remember, son?” Owen asks as he sits next to him.

TK takes in his dad’s tired face, the worry in his clear eyes and frowns as he tries to think of the question. It starts to come back to him in flashes, the call, the house, the kid, the gun, and at the end, _Carlos._

“I got shot,” he whispers, his chest giving a sharp ache at that moment to prove his statement.

Owen nods, and when he runs a hand through his hair, TK can see it shake. “Yeah, kid, you did. You’ve been asleep for the last four days. We’ve all been here waiting for you to wake up scared out of our minds.”

TK grips his father’s hand. “I’m sorry, dad.”

Owen shakes his head. “It’s not your fault, TK,” he tells him, leaning in to kiss him on the forehead.

“I’m just glad you’re okay. Everyone is going to be so happy you’re awake,” he says, a twinkle entering his eyes as he continues. “Especially a certain someone who has barely left this room or your side.”

TK looks up at his dad, hopeful. “Carlos? Where is he?”

“He stepped out for a moment to get coffee,” Owen tells him.

His father must see something in his expression; maybe he sees everything because he shakes his head, a soft smile on his face, and he thinks he hears him whisper _‘finally.’_

“I’ll go get him,” he says, heading for the door. “And a doctor on the way, you just relax. I’ll be right back.”

TK gives him a nod, trying to calm his racing heart as he looks up at the ceiling and works to steady his breathing. More flashes of that night come to him, but through it all, what he sees the most is Carlos, his face before everything went dark.

“TK.”

He turns his head to find Carlos staring at him, his eyes are wide like that night – they hold the same fear too, but TK can also see relief and love in them.

“Hey,” he gets out with a wobbly smile when Carlos lets out a broken sob as he continues to lean against the door frame for support. “Come here.”

Carlos makes another hurt sound as he all but stumbles towards him.

He starts to sit up, it takes some effort, but Carlos’ hands are on him instantly to assist him. When he’s sitting upright, he taps on the space next to his hip, smiling when Carlos sits next to him.

“How do you feel?” Carlos asks him; there is a tremble in his voice that makes TK’s heart ache.

“I feel okay,” he answers. He takes in the bags under Carlos’ eyes, his usually beautiful glowing skin is ashen. “What about you?”

Carlos lets out an ugly snort at the question. “I wasn’t the one shot, Tyler.”

“No,” he concedes. He stops for a moment, taking a breath as he continues. “But you had to be the one to watch me in this bed. If it were you instead of me, I would have lost my mind.”

Carlos’ eyes shut, but it doesn’t stop a tear from sliding down his face. “I was so scared,” he whispers as he opens his eyes again to look at him. “You’re never allowed to scare me like this again.’

TK nods, feeling his own eyes sting. “I promise.”

“I mean it, TK,” Carlos warns him. “Never again, okay? I love you too much to lose you.”

TK’s breath catches; he looks into Carlos’ eyes and is sure his heart will stop from the love he finds in them. “I promise,” he says one more time.

֍֍֍

The team decides to celebrate him getting out of the hospital with a party at his father’s house; they fill the place with friends, family, and enough of Carlota Reyes’ food to feed an army. There are enough people and chaos that they don’t notice when he slips outside, yet less then fifteen minutes later, Carlos walks out of the house too.

“Hey,” he says softly as Carlos sits down with him on the outside sofa his father has on the porch.

“Hey,” Carlos answers back just as quietly, looking at him with gentle concern. “Are you okay? I can take you back to your place if you’re tired out, everyone will understand.”

TK smiles at his friend, reaching out to take his hand. “I’m fine. I just needed some air. Your mom seems to think that the cure to getting shot is stuffing me full of food until I pop.”

Carlos smirks back at him, the corners of his eyes crinkling at the edges. “You say that like it’s a revelation, you’re not new. You know how my mother operates.”

“This is true,” he says with a laugh. He leans back, tilting his head up. He feels Carlos shift, and he’s not all that surprised when he touches him. His fingers run over the side of his neck, his cheek, his brow. TK lets out a soft exhale at Carlos’ gentleness; he turns his head to find Carlos looking at him intently.

“I almost lost you,” Carlos says quietly, his brown eyes shining with unshed tears.

TK looks at his friend, taking all of him in, the affection in his touch, the worry in his words, and the love in his gaze.

“Do you remember the other night when you took me home after hanging out with the crew?” he starts. “You knew something was bothering me, but I didn’t want to tell you what.”

He watches as Carlos frowns even as he gives him a nod. He licks his lips nervously as he takes a moment to steady his racing, hopeful heart.

“After you went to answer your mom’s call, Marjan and Paul asked me how long we’ve been together,” he tells him, watching, but Carlos' expression doesn’t change. He just continues to wait with a calm and gentle look on his face.

“When I told them we weren’t a couple, they explained why they thought we were, they – “ TK pauses, swallowing down the butterflies in his stomach. “ – they figured out so easily how in love with you I am. I guess I’m really obvious,” he finishes with an awkward shrug of his shoulders.

It’s quiet for a moment until TK can’t take the silence anymore. “Please say something,” he whispers. “Even if you don’t feel the same way, it’s okay. I just need to know.”

Carlos looks at him, brown eyes compassionate as always, and TK remembers, no matter what, Carlos will be kind.

“Do you remember when we met?” Carlos starts, and though confused by the change in conversation, TK nods.

“Right here on this porch,” he tells him.

“That’s right. Mami told us we had new neighbors, and we came over with food to say hi. Your dad opened the door, and a minute later, you came out too with a firetruck in your hand,” Carlos reminds him. “You didn’t look at any of my sisters, you looked at me and asked if I wanted to play with you.”

“You called dibs on being my friend,” TK chuckles at the memory.

“Yeah,” Carlos grins back at him. “We played every day that week, and by the end of it, I went to my mom, told her you were my best friend, that I loved you, and that one day I would marry you.”

“Carlos – “ he breathes, staring at him in shock as he looks back at him lovingly.

Carlos reaches up to touch his cheek again. “I have loved you since I was nine, TK. It took less than a week of knowing you to love you. How can you think for one second I don’t feel exactly the same way?”

“You – “ he whispers, not sure he’s not still dreaming.

“ _Love you_ ,” Carlos answers back, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Always have, always will, and I don’t want to keep it a secret anymore. So if you love me too, can I just kiss you already? I’ve been waiting for years.”

TK nods rapidly, a wet laugh coming out right before Carlos’ lips touch his. He’s thought and dreamed about kissing Carlos longer than he can remember, but even his best dreams don’t compare to this perfect moment. Carlos kisses him like it’s the first time and the millionth, it’s new and familiar all at once. He lets out a breathy sound against his mouth, his hands reaching up to hold Carlos’ face, pulling him even closer as they deepen the kiss. It’s only when breathing becomes a problem that they break the kiss, but they don’t pull away from each other. Instead, they press their foreheads together, smiling and giggling like happy idiots.

“I love you, Carlos,” he whispers, his stomach flipping when Carlos’ smile widens, bright and beautiful like the man in his arms.

“I love you too, TK,” Carlos says back to him, making his insides jump again. He can’t remember the last time he was this happy, but it probably involved Carlos like pretty much every other happy moment in his life.

TK is closing the small distance between their mouths again; he’s got years to make up for, when the front door of the house opens with a bang. They look over to it, still wrapped in each other’s arms to find one of Carlos’ sisters looking at them with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

“Here you are,” she starts, giving them a once over. “I see you finally got your shit together. Congratulations.”

“Lola – “ Carlos starts to speak, but it’s too late, she’s already turning her head back towards the inside of the house.

“Found them!” she shouts as she turns back in. “Who had _‘near-death experience’_ in the ‘TK and Carlos finally pull their heads out of their ass’ pool?”

Her shout is met with more screams and cheers, but luckily no one comes outside to confirm her statement. TK looks back at Carlos, who is still looking at the door a little shocked. It gets louder inside, and TK makes a decision, he stands, extending his hand to him.

“Come on, we’re going back to my place,” he says, wiggling his fingers when Carlos continues to sit.

“We are?” he questions, finally snapping out of the shock of being caught, taking his hand.

“Mmhmm, I’m calling dibs on you,” he says, throwing a grin over his shoulder as he leads Carlos towards the car. “We can deal with their gloating tomorrow. Tonight, I’m not sharing. We are going home to make up for lost time.”

Carlos reaches for him, pulling him back into his arms. He presses his mouth against the back of his neck, smiling when he lets out a shiver.

“Dibs,” he whispers against his skin. He doesn’t have to say anything else, TK knows what he means.

_Mine forever._

TK smiles, turning around in his arms.

“Dibs,” he promises, before kissing him one more time.

_Mine forever too._

**Author's Note:**

> [tumblr](https://bellakitse.tumblr.com/)


End file.
